Bridge Blog
Bridging the Knowledge Gap
Our mission at Bridge2PT is to provide a revolutionary Physical Therapy experience for both our patients and our practitioners. We want this to feel like nothing you've ever experienced in Physical Therapy before. In order to provide this superior experience, we feel it is our responsibility to help educate our communities about the benefits of mobile, one-on-one care with a Doctor of Physical Therapy that is truly focused on your healing journey. We intend to use this blog, Bridging the Knowledge Gap, to deliver the information we feel will help you make the decision that mobile Physical Therapy with Bridge2PT is right for you
Do You Take My Insurance? Why Your Health Insurance Isn't Helping
One of the most common questions patients have when talking about starting a course of care with a new physical therapist is, “do you take my insurance?” When selecting a physical therapy provider, the status of the provider as an “in-network” versus “out-of-network” provider can also affect how your insurance will play a role in payment for services. While at first glance it can seem like an out-of-network provider will come at an additional cost, that turns out not to be the case for most patients. Here are some of the main points to consider when selecting your Physical Therapist... Read More
When to see your Physical Therapist, and how that decision can affect your pocketbook
I am very supportive of my patients when they feel they need to return to see their MD, get a second opinion from a specialist, or seek additional imaging or testing for an issue that is not responding to Physical Therapy and other conservative treatments. I do, however, also make sure that my patients know how important it is for them to seek Physical Therapy early on when they start to notice symptoms. In line with some of the other posts in this blog, I have found that giving patients the peace of mind that their symptoms are not indicative of a major illness, encouraging them to believe in their body’s natural ability to heal, and giving them some exercises and techniques to perform in order to be proactive about their healing process can be very powerful tools.
In a study from the BMC Health Services Research Journal (found here), researchers examined the relationship between the timing of Physical Therapy consultation/treatment and overall healthcare utilization and cost. They categorized 308 patients with complaints of neck pain into early PT (within 14 days of onset), delayed PT (15-90 days of onset), and late PT (91-364 days of onset). Their results showed that patients in the delayed and late PT groups had an increased likelihood of receiving opioids, getting a spinal injection, and having MRI, X-ray, and CT scans performed. These differences in management resulted in an increased cost of $1063 in the delayed PT group, and $2172 in the late PT group.
Increased numbers of tests and procedures can often lead patients down a frustrating road of referrals, exams, surgeries, increased cost, and fear based behavior surrounding their pain, all of which may not have been necessary. Early access to high quality, concierge, on demand Physical Therapy is a key component in helping patients avoid these potential pitfalls. Making Physical Therapy more available to patients in need will not only help those patients get better faster, but will help decrease the amount of money they're paying out of pocket, and as this study’s findings suggest, help ease the burden on the medical system as a whole.
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